Water Softener Problems Culligan Mark 89

I have a Mark 89 Culligan Watersoftener system and it does not appear to be working anymore.

From what I can tell, there is no flow out the drain line during any part of the regeneration sequence.

I manually moved the timer through the sequences and where I expect a backwash, there is none.

The brine tank is full of water and there are cycles were I can see a low flow of water into the tank and then a higher pressure flow of water.
I found this by pulling the brine line and moving the float around to engage or disengage.
Does anyone know which stage of the process the low flow is? Which stage has the higher pressure. I have lost track of the switch position for the various stages now as well.

Does the drain elbow pull out or screw out of the assembly?
Will cleaning inside help this? Is there a filter or screen that could be plugged?

Or, could it be a more significant problem such as a motor or pump?

I have the manual, but it doesnt really tell me how to do maintenance or take things apart.

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Water Softener Problems Culligan Mark 89

It sounds like a blocked or kinked closed drain line, maybe it's frozen or in a puddle of ice or... the DLFC (drain line flow control) button/washer is blocked. The DLFC is inside the fitting that the drain line attaches to on the back of the control valve. Most of those fittings are screwed in but some newer designs have a plastic U shaped clip pin you pull out.

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Gary Slusser
23 years in water treatment and well pumps, 13 years on the 'net helping others to help themselves.

Water Softener Problems Culligan Mark 89

OK the drain elbow is removed by pulling up on the horse shoe clip near where the drain line connects to the head. pull this out and look inside there is a flow restrictor made of rubber pull this out and check it ( small hole about 3/16" dia. ) . Now that is done but I dont think that is the problem .. pull out the two screws from the face plate and remove it look under the motor unit at the piston push rod.. see anything broken yet maybe a bell crank no .. ok put the unit in bypass and get ready to take some stuff apart ( the fun stuff ) pull the motor off and go back to the lower piston assm. move the piston in and out this is usually where the problem is most likley a broken seal pack assm. Have fun you will have to remove the upper cam in order to get the motor off and dont forget to UNPLUG THE UNIT FIRST !!! Let us know what turns up .

Water Softener Problems Culligan Mark 89

I had an opportunity to get at the repair earlier this weekend and can report that the unit now operates correctly.

The issue was a clogged or significanly restricted stopper in the drain outlet. I pulled the assembly apart, removed and cleaned the stopper, reattached, and away it went. All cycles working well.

I suspect that part of the problem is that the drain line, due to the location and set up in the basement, must drain vertically. This allows some water to sit in the assembly after use, allowing the stopper to clog more easily, than if all the water drained out. This type of repair my have to be done a few more times, but at least I have a better idea how to do it.

Water Softener Problems Culligan Mark 89

Have no idea of specifics, but tannins in water(not much iron), been told the hardness here(rural) is comparable to the domestic water in the nearest city.
Unit is at least 10yrs old

So the unit is 10..

How often is the unit going through regen?

Either way I would be looking at the main seal and piston assembly... water to the drain while the unit is in service means that there is a challenge with some thing with in that assembly..
Challenge equals fix
problem more times than not equal no fix...
At least in my book...

Water Softener Problems Culligan Mark 89

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akpsdvan

So the unit is 10..

How often is the unit going through regen?

Either way I would be looking at the main seal and piston assembly... water to the drain while the unit is in service means that there is a challenge with some thing with in that assembly..
Challenge equals fix
problem more times than not equal no fix...
At least in my book...

I havn't added salt in months because of this issue....wanted to solve it first. Under normal use it was regenerating every couple of days.

Can a kit be purchased from Culligan or does this have to be done by a service tech.?